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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Wilda (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Wilda. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next parish to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring parishes instead of the parish in which they lived:  their home parish contained property and probate records; the parish to the west contained birth and death records; the parish to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Wilda is located in Rapides Parish.

To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Rapides Parish: Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches & Vernon.

Below are the parishes that are near Wilda. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilda:

  • Rapides Parish     (The home parish of Wilda)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilda, with the one closest to Wilda listed first.
    • Hot Wells
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hot Wells is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Wells
    • Gardner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hemphill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
    • Otis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Boyce
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sieper
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Zimmerman
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Zimmerman is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
    • Rock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Rock is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Weil
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
    • Flatwoods
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hineston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Lena
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Elmer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilda, with the one closest to Wilda listed first.
    • Pawnee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Pawnee is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
    • Elizabeth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Mab
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Mab is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mab
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilda, with the one closest to Wilda listed first.
    • Fairmount
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Colfax
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Creola
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Creola is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Creola has also been known as:
      • Creola village
    • Stay
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Bentley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Dry Prong
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Pollock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Montgomery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Antonia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Antonia is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonia
    • Fishville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Fishville is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilda, with the one closest to Wilda listed first.
    • Marco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Marco is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marco
    • Gorum
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cloutierville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Derry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
    • Melrose
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Flora
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilda, with the one closest to Wilda listed first.
    • Leander
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Leander is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
    • Lacamp
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Simpson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Hicks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Walnut Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Alco
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Slagle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Fullerton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Kurthwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Pitkin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dido
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
    • Cravens
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cravens is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravens
    • Fort Polk North
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fort Polk North is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Polk North

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilda, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Wilda.

Cemeteries Near Wilda ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilda.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Wilda - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilda covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilda, with the one closest to Wilda listed first.

  • Ball Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Campground Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Campground Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Nichols Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Dyer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Dewill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Texada Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • McNutt Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • McNutt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • James Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hardshell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (188 more) ...
    • Marler Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Dark - Neal Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<2>

While we didn't find Wilda in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilda.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilda, with the one closest to Wilda listed first.

  • Hemphill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
  • Milford ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Milford is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
  • Crane
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Crane is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
  • Boyce
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hineston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Weil
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
  • Rapides
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rapides is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapides
  • Fairmount
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Elmer
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Lena
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Mora
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Melder
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cora
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cora is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
    • Chopin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Chopin is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chopin
    • Colfax
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilda. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilda.

Newspapers Published in Wilda ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilda.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilda, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilda.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Wilda:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Wilda, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wilda) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.